Fox News’ Gutfeld goes head to head with Colbert in ratings war
Fox News’ late night host, Greg Gutfeld, is proving popular, just finding himself behind Stephen Colbert and The Late Show in the weeknight ratings war.
Nielson reported that Gutfeld! averaged a 1,956,000 total viewers a night last month, making the primetime show one of the most popular of the late night category.
Gutfeld has surpassed Jimmy Kimmel, Fallon and Meyers, all long time favourites in the timeslot.
Gutfeld himself has celebrated his prominence in the ratings, often when overtaking Colbert as the most watched host. Last October, he retweeted an article from the Daily Mail reporting his success, with the caption, “Greg Gutfeld trounced Stephen Colbert in ratings battle again by mocking the woke left”.
The conservative commentator, however, does not often overtake Colbert, and only on rare occasion. Despite this, Gutfeld’s ratings are surprising for a show so new, with just over a year on the air.
Gutfeld sees his late night show as an aiding piece to an already partisan conservative speech bubble. The host makes no attempt to shy away from blunt political talking points; he is widely known for his sarcastic wit which has led him to the very top of the Fox News network.
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Gutfeld has shaken the mainstream late night landscape
The conservative host knows his audience all too well. Those disillusioned with the more political and divisive set of today’s largely left mainstream late night line-up now have a home. Despite the channel’s long reputation of misinformation and propaganda-style reporting, it seems the timeslot refuses to let Gutfeld sit alone on weeknights.
Even on a far smaller budget and a lack of actual celebrity guests, this new wave of conservative late night programming has its foot on the pedal. Although the final destination maintains its ambiguity.
Do you think one day Gutfeld will overtake Colbert for good? Let us know in the comments.